Experiencing Target Field the ballpark Friday compared to the construction site was anything but routine for Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer.

He spent 45 minutes surveying the field and the concourse in street clothes before returning to the clubhouse to change into uniform.

During the game, Cuddyer struggled to focus on each pitch over stealing glances at the scoreboards, sightlines and more than 39,000 fans who packed the new ballpark for a preseason tuneup against the St. Louis Cardinals.

“My head was on a swivel since the first minute I drove into the parking lot,” Cuddyer said. “I was just in awe, looking around.

“Being in right field at the Metrodome, you don’t really get to see many people’s faces. Here, I went for a foul ball down the right-field line, said hello to the people in the front row and went back to my position. It was pretty cool.”

Beautiful, awesome, cool were among the superlatives Twins players tossed out before and after an 8-4 exhibition loss that became a side note to the christening of their new $545 million downtown Minneapolis home.

“I kept looking around amazed this was our ballpark,” said first baseman Justin Morneau.

The Twins are breaking in Target Field with a pair of exhibition games this weekend against the Cardinals before starting the regular season Monday against the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., and returning for the April 12 home opener against the Boston Red Sox.

Mother Nature welcomed the club and their fans back to outdoor baseball for the first time since 1981 with a thunderstorm that canceled batting practice but swiftly moved out of the area to allow the game to start on time at 5:11 p.m.

The first cheers went up for St. Paul native and reigning American League MVP Joe Mauer, who ran to the bullpen to warm up starter Carl Pavano a half-hour before the game. It was Mauer’s first appearance in the Twin Cities since signing an eight-year, $184 million contract in spring training.

“Very cool,” Mauer said about his reception. “It had the feeling of a regular-season game. I know the fans were excited and we were excited to get out there and play. This is a great place. I think they did it right, and I’m excited to be here for a while.”

Denard Span created the most noise, chasing down an Albert Pujols drive to the right-center fence in the first inning, legging out a triple in his first at-bat and slugging the first Twins homer in the third.

The night’s warmest moment came when fans gave Jacque Jones, the erstwhile Twin who accepted a minor league assignment as he tried to earn his way back to the majors, a standing ovation as he strode to the plate in the eighth inning.

Earlier, Jones dove in right field to snare a sinking line drive off the bat of Allen Craig.

“I would much rather battle the lights and the sun naturally than to battle that roof every single fly ball,” said Jones, who played seven seasons under the Teflon sky of the Metrodome.

Game-time temperature Friday was a balmy 65 degrees with a 15-mph crosswind blowing from right to left field. As darkness descended and the wind chilled, though, many fans in the left-field upper deck vacated for warmer spots.

The storm gave the new grounds crew a chance to practice their evolving tarp-rolling skills.

Strong winds gusting over the field from the exposed plaza overlooking right made the task daunting for crew chief Larry DiVito, who expects his workers to unspool and spread the tarp over the infield in at least one minute.

“They had a tough time getting it down the first time, but we know how the wind is going to affect it now,” DiVito said.

Despite the pregame downpour, players raved about how quickly the field drained.

“I didn’t feel any water out there at all. It was as if it never rained,” Cuddyer said.

Cuddyer had problems picking up low pitches in the pine trees behind the center-field wall but hopes batting practice and more at-bats will help him adjust.

“I think I was the only one who saw that. Maybe I’m a weirdo,” Cuddyer said.

Morneau reported no problems at the plate.

“Anything to me is better than the Dome,” he said. “We didn’t have any background. It was just seats. The depth perception was a little different.”

Before the game, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire talked to reporters in the first-base dugout, which is on the opposite side of their former Metrodome bench. The small roof exposes most of the dugout and players, like the fans, to the elements.

“The overhang is a little nerve-racking here. We’re going to get wet,” Gardenhire said. “I told them that from the get-go, but they’re worried about our big guys hitting their heads. I’m like, they’re going to hit them here or another foot higher. One more foot out there.”

The Cardinals also got into the historic vibe.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” said second baseman Skip Schumaker, who lined out to second on the game’s first pitch. “A lot of guys were excited to check out the new park. It had almost an Opening Day type of feel even through it’s another spring training game.”

Brian Murphy has been on the Pioneer Press sports staff since 2000, migrating from the Detroit Free Press, where he covered police, courts and sports for four years. Murphy was the Minnesota Wild/NHL beat writer from 2002 to 2008 and has covered the Vikings as a reporter and columnist since 2009. Murphy is a Detroit native and Wayne State University graduate.

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